The year in which…. the
Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland brought hope for an end to the
country’s Troubles…SM:tv Live! Saturday morning television for children was
launched…the Spice Girls said goodbye with their song “Goodbye”

As long as Michael can feel
his sick baby sister's heart beating inside him, he knows she is alive. But as
her condition becomes life-threatening and the family faces the nightmare of an
operation to save her life, Michael turns to his new friend Mina, and Skellig,
the strange being who lives beneath the crumbling garage at the family's new
home. In his debut novel for children, Almond created a wonderful book full of
mystery which continues to have a haunting power over its readers.

The year in which…American
football star O.J. Simpson was acquitted of first-degree murder in an
internationally televised trial…British beef was banned in the EC after BSE was
discovered…Britain became Cool Britannia and Oasis sang “Don’t Look Back in
Anger”.

A novel for readers of 14
years and over which honestly and realistically depicts the lives of young
heroin users, Tar and Gemma who run away to live in a squat in Bristol and
become addicted to heroin. When “Junk” became the controversial winner of the
Carnegie Medal, it made a statement about the Medal itself and how it sometimes
rewards books for young people that push the boundaries of their understanding.

The year in which…Mikhail
Gorbachev became President of Soviet Union…the wreck of Titanic was
discovered…the Live Aid concert was held to help famine in Africa…Wimbledon’s
youngest ever winner, Boris Becker won Men’s Singles final…Tears for Fears sang
“Everybody Wants to Rule the World”.

Annie knows the secrets of
the great marsh. She’s even heard about its ghost. But on a terrible night, when
Annie must brace the storm alone, not even she knows what to expect. A
perfectly constructed and lyrical story, constructed in few words which is
ideal both for younger readers, and older children who cannot sustain a longer
read.

The year in which…Britain
joined the US Invasion of Iraq…the Black Eyed Peas sang “Where is the Love”.

When Mattie is entrusted with
a bundle of letters, she fully intends to burn them just as Grace Brown, the
young woman who gave them to her, has asked. But when Grace is found drowned
next day, Mattie finds herself unable to destroy them. As she begins to read
the letters, a riveting story emerges. An extremely impressive first novel
about hard choices and the power of language to free us from the constraints of
everyday based on a real murder at the turn of the century in New York state.

The year in which...the
passenger liner, the QEII was launched…Christian Barnaard carried out the
world’s first heart transplant…Che Guevara was shot dead by Bolivian
soldiers…The Beatles released “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”

In a secluded Welsh valley
ringed by wild mountains, the characters and quarrels of three young people
unfold as a tragic legend recurs – of two men who once loved the same girl and
killed each other, leaving successive generations to play out the terror of
that ancient triangle. From the moment Alison discovers the dinner service in
the attic, with its curious pattern of floral owls, a chain of events is set in
progress that is to affect everybody’s lives. This novel marked a turning-point
for fiction for young people: there are the books that went before it, and the
books which came after.

THE FAMILY FROM ONE END
STREET BY EVE GARNETT
Penguin (Age range 8+)
ISBN: 9780141317168
Winner of the 1937 Carnegie
Medal

The year in which…Edward,
Duke of Windsor married Mrs Simpson…the 999 emergency telephone system came
into operation…the unarmed Basque town of Guernica was destroyed by German
bombers…Rodgers and Hart wrote “My Funny Valentine”.

There is never a dull moment
in the big, happy and lively Ruggles family. From capable Lily Rose, whose good
deeds don’t always go to plan, down to prize-winning baby William, the seven
Ruggles children are experts at finding fun and adventure. This was the first
book of its kind to portray a working-class family, and gives us a wonderful
picture of the time with great appeal for a younger audience. It remains
remarkably fresh and readable 70 years on.

The year in which…
Elizabeth II succeeded her father, George VI…‘Teddy Boys’ or ‘Teds’ emerged as
a youth cult …Churchill became Conservative Prime Minister …food rationing
ended.

Pod, Homily and Arrietty are
a family of tiny people who live beneath the floor. Everything they own is
borrowed, from the “human beans” who don’t even know they exist until the
fateful day when Arrietty makes friends with “the boy upstairs”. In this
classic children’s story, Norton created a whole world in miniature, fusing
great imagination with real emotions.

The year in which…Charles de Gaulle became President of France…the
last debutantes were presented at court…Britain’s motorway system opened with
the M6

Tom has to spend the summer
at his aunt’s house, and it seems as if nothing good will ever happen again.
Then he hears the grandfather clock strike thirteen, and everything changes.
Outside the door is a garden – a garden that shouldn’t exist. Tom knows that
the garden and Hatty, the girl he meets there are too fantastic for other
people to believe in. Only at the end of his adventures does he discover the
secret of what lay behind it all. An enchanting and touching story, which is
also a powerful reflection on the past.

The year in which…war
raged in Chechyna…there was further ethnic cleansing in Bosnia…slogan T Shirts,
combats and camouflage trousers were in…Take That sang “Back for Good”

Lyra Belacqua and her animal daemon live half-wild and
carefree among the scholars of Jordan College, Oxford. The destiny that awaits
her will take her to the frozen lands of the Arctic, where witch-clans reign
and ice-bears fight. Her extraordinary journey will have immeasurable
consequences far beyond her own world…The first volume of Pullman’s now
celebrated His Dark Materials trilogy won the Carnegie Medal when it was still
relatively unknown. It is now universally revered as one of the most
imaginative works in the English language, and a thought-provoking reflection
on the human condition.

THE MACHINE-GUNNERS BY ROBERT WESTALLMacmillan (Age range 10+)
ISBN: 9780330397858
Winner of the 1975 Carnegie
Medal

The year in which…Arthur
Ashe became the first black man to win Wimbledon…Microsoft was founded…Pol Pot
became communist dictator of Cambodia…Malcolm Maclaren produced a punk band
named the Sex Pistols and his shop became the centre of punk fashion

Chas McGill has the
second-best collection of war souvenirs in Garmouth, and he desperately wants
it to be the best. When he stumbles across the remains of a German bomber
crashed in the woods, its shiny, black machine-gun still intact he grabs his
chance. Soon he’s masterminding his own war effort with dangerous and
unexpected results. A marvellous novel about the Second World War, and also
about now.